India is ready for any contingency: Lt Gen Ranbir Singh

General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC) Northern Command, Lt Gen Ranbir Singh on Thursday said that the Indian Army is ready for any contingency.

On the occasion of the 19th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas, Lt Gen Singh said, "Indian Army is ready for any contingency. Any kind of movement, misadventure which our adversaries try to undertake, they'll be given a befitting reply."

Expressing his gratitude to the soldiers who fought for the nation, Lt Gen Singh: "We applaud the magnificent efforts of all those gallant sons of the soil. We go ahead with gratitude for all those martyrs who sacrificed their lives in the service of the nation."

On transgressions along the Actual Line of Control, he further said, "On a number of occasions there have been reports that People's Liberation Army of China carried out transgressions in various areas along the Actual Line of Control but such transgressions took place in areas where we have different perception of the Actual Line of Control."

He emphasised that India and China have well-established mechanisms especially at the highest level where special representatives from both the countries discuss issues related to the resolution of the boundary dispute.

On Pakistan, Lt Gen Singh said: "As far as the internal situation in Pakistan is concerned, I think we will leave it to Pakistan authority and population to see how to handle the challenges inside their country. It hasn't affected our preparations."

Talking about the infrastructure, the GOC elaborated that there has been a lot of development since the past few years. "We are trying to connect all our forward posts with roads; we are also trying to make helipads in all the upcoming posts to bring back troops in case of any untoward situations. Soldiers can use ISAT telephones, DSPT, government lines etc wherever there is no mobile network," explained Singh.

Speaking on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, he said, "A large majority of Jammu and Kashmir is peace-loving and want to support initiatives towards peace and restoration."

Lt Gen Singh also assured that the Army conducts operations in a professional manner while ensuring minimum collateral damage.

He further said that all the martyrs and war veterans have received their monuments, incentives as promised to them.